June 8, 2023 11:40a
(WGTD)---Gov. Evers paid a visit Wednesday to the recently-restored Samuel Myers Park located just south of Gateway in Racine.
He didn’t come empty-handed. Evers’ visit highlighted the receipt of a $28,000 Wisconsin Coastal Management Grant. It’ll help fund the installation of a viewing platform that’ll be built in the middle of some new wetlands.
The wetlands are part of a restoration project that included the creation of sand dunes, dry prairies, rain gardens and swales that are all designed to reduce pollution, create an inviting habitat and make swimming possible.
City grants coordinator Adrian Koski led the tour and explained that the park restoration has a strong educational component. "Often times, within an urban setting, there is a nature deficit where people just aren't exposed to this and so if we want to get people to care about issues of climate change and ecological preservation and diversity we need exposure," Koski said. "And so that's one of the main things we're looking to do with this platform is get people better connected to nature," he told the governor.
The Samuel Myers Park restoration was not an overnight project. It began in 2014 and moved forward in eleven phases. The work included construction of asphalt paths and a boardwalk.
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